Monday, January 31, 2011

I am so proud of Kirk. He has had a HUGE weight on his shoulders for a long time now with school, finishing his thesis while at the same time studying for his CFA, and well not always having the most supportive wife.

I really think it brightened his day when he got the following e-mail.

"Congratulations! As a result of your outstanding academic achievement, you are eligible to apply for the College of Business Administration's 2010-2011 Outstanding EMBA Student Award."

Kirk would need to turn in a one page essay and his transcripts. Then he would go to the 40th Annual College of Business Awards Banquet.

I have a handful of friends and family that have supported their spouse through the Masters program. It is not easy for anyone especially the person completing their Masters. Not to mention that he has five kids, 15 chickens, and working full time.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Every time I am pregnant I promise myself this baby will be the one that will sleep well. This will be the one I will let "soothe" herself to sleep. Not "cry it out" but let them fuss a little from day one so they can figure it out. Well you guessed it I have failed every time.

There is something wrong with me that I can not let my babies cry. I don't know what it is but I just can not do it. Every time when they get to be around 7-9 months I succumb to peer pressure and let them cry it out. It worked fine with Myla not at ALL with Sariah and Capri.... little 14 pound Capri. Yeah let me just tell you about that.

It all started about two weeks ago. I gave in and said ok fine I will let her cry it out for short times and keep going back in comforting her but let her soothe herself.

This went on for about four nights and without much change. OK well there was a change but not the change I was looking for. She started having crazy separation anxiety. This lasted about TWO WEEKS. She would not let me put her down for one second! Anytime someone would come near her even her family she would start screaming and squeeze me even tighter.

That is fun and all but day after day. Not being able to clean, cook or really live without her in my arms got a little old. Oh and did I mention she would not nap more than 5 minutes twice a day.

Then it got worse. She got really sick. I think she had the same flu like thing I had, with body aches and fever. Four days of the low grade fever and then as soon as that passes she got a crazy rash and thrush (yeast infection of the mouth). Really anything else???

So the bottom line Capri will not be four years old needing me to nurse her to sleep. Myla and Sariah go to sleep great and sleep through the night just fine. I think they are well adjusted and independent. So for now I am just going to enjoy my almost healthy happy baby and know that this brief moment in time will pass and she will no longer be my baby. So today I will just enjoy it!

I got Mastitis (breast Infection) probably around 15 plus times while nursing Sariah and each time I would call up my doctor and get put on antibiotics. I die now thinking how bad that was for my body but what choice did I have???

Oh yeah the cure all drug! My friend Naomi told me about garlic and cranberry a few years back and to be honest I was not sure if I believed they would work on an infection. Well the past few months our house has really proved it works.

Once again I am having mastitis over and over yet again. Myla had a few bladder infections (not uncommon in kidney disease patients) and Kirk just has a sinus infection.

It is completely amazing how fast the garlic and cranberry work. Kirk and I just take the pills for both and within hours we are feeling a ton better and by the next morning back to 100%.

For Myla I would give her the garlic gel capsules and she would chew them right up. For cranberry some of my friends would get the cranberry drops at health food store but that is really pricey. So I used my mortar and mashed them up and added them to some cranberry juice. Myla went from crying out in pain to within a few hours being as good as new.

It is such a blessing to be able to help my family without every having to leave the house. Now if only I could find a cure for NephroticSyndorme!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Last night while I was out, Kirk was working on his homework and Myla decided she was going to do her "homework". When I got home I saw her working on it but I did not get a chance to look it over until after she was in bed.

Normally I work with her but she did this one all by herself and did not have anyone to read it to her.

The idea is you look at the words on top, then the picture and decide what word matches the pictures and then write the word. I love how Myla wrote grl (girl) instead of Pam and duress (dress) instead of tag. Its so fun to see my little girl learning to write and spell words. I have really enjoyed teaching her at home.

On a side note I have spent a lot of time researching homeschool, the pros and cons. With Myla's health problems and the effect that small colds have on her I have really considered it. Myla does not start Kindergarten until August and she is doing 1st grade curriculum on almost all subjects. There is something amazing about watching your child learn something for the first time and get so excited. I did not realize how rewarding it is!

I will do a post soon on some cool things I learned about homeschool. Homeschool is not for everyone but I think it will be a great blessing for our family.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

First of all clothing is really hard for me. It is a miracle if I find something that fits, looks ok and is modest. Really its almost impossible for the first two let alone but the third takes a lot of shopping.

1.) I found these things called Cami Secret at Bed Bath and Beyond around Christmas time and they are great. I had this exact idea a few years back and should have acted on it. I hate when that happens. Anyway you attach them to either side of your bra strap. They have this little piece of fabric that covers where your shirt lacks. They don't work for every shirt but for the shirts they do it is nice not to have one extra layer. For the shirts they do not work on I still use these.

2.) My friend turned my on to Lancome foundation a few months back and so far I love it. It covers really well without feeling like I am wearing anything at all. Also I have crazy sensitive skin and so far I have been fine.

3.) I also invested in the Lancome foundation brush and when I say invested I mean $35 for a foundation brush! I really think it was money well spent. My foundation goes on so smooth. Also not make up in my nails. LOVE IT!

4.) I have crazy thick hair. No really I mean it. It may not look like it from a distance but because it is so thick and thick I really struggle finding ways to keep it in place. I found Sally's Beauty Supply I found the BEST bobby pins ever. They are called Supreme Bobby Pins by Marianna. $5.00 for a half pound, they should last the rest of my life! The great thing is when I put them in my hair does not move!

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until it resembles course crumbs. Stir in milk until just moistened. For here you can either do drop biscuits, super easy but not as nice looking. Drop biscuits are just a spoon full of dough dropped on a baking sheet. OR the dough can be rolled out 3/4 inch thick and use a biscuit cutter (or circle cookie cutter) and cut 2 1/2 inch circles. Place on a ungreased baking sheet and cook at 450 for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve warm.

Mock Potato Soup(AKA Cauliflower Leek Soup)

Don't let the name fool you on this one. It truly is amazing and the whole family will love it.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot on medium heat, and saute leeks, cauliflower, and garlic for about 10 minutes. Stir in the vegetable broth, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. (Sometimes I do less because of time and it turns out just fine)

Remove the soup from heat. Blend the soup with a immersion blender or hand mixer only if you like it smooth. My family likes it chunky. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in heavy cream.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

New year with new goals. A few years past I made a goal to do as much homemade as I could. That started with food, cleaning products, toys, clothes..... really you name it I tired it.

Changing from some processed foods to almost none was huge for me. We ever did that much processed food in our house. But the way I really started to understand food, the effects food has on every aspect of our lives, good or bad. The more I learned about what I was eating the better I felt. First my body had more energy. My body worked more efficient on less food. I slept better and most important my mood was better. I started paying attention to how different foods made me feel.

When I was pregnant with Sariah I had a few bad experience with meat and could not eat it the rest of the pregnancy. I assumed that once I was not pregnant any more I would be able to go back to meat. No such luck. Sariah is just about three years old and I still do not like it at all. I do eat it VERY sparingly but I did notice I feel better without it.

Also the less I ate refined sugars the less I craved them. In return the more I ate them the more I craved them.

The better I ate and put good locally grown, no processed, homemade food in my body the better I felt about myself. When I would put "bad" foods in my body the lower my self image would be.

OK so why I am I going on and on about food? Great question. Even though I ate really healthy I was still not in what I would consider a healthy weight rang. So as with a new year comes new goals.

My GoalI still need to be very healthy in my food choices while watching my portion sizes but most of all I needed to move more. As a mom it is so hard to take time out for ourselves. But we HAVE to do it to be a good mommy and wife! So this year I have decided I want to start running.

Now keep in mind I have NEVER been a runner. I hated running in P.E. and have never ran since but I wanted to be a runner. So I thought if I accomplish nothing else this year I want to run.

Let me just say I went into this very worried but so far it has been great. I love the feeling of being outside in the fresh air and doing something so good for my body.

The best part is in just under two weeks I have lost 6 lbs. I still have like another 40 to go but that is a better start than I had two weeks ago. My plan is to work out 5 days per week between running, workout videos and walking if I have to.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

I was reading this article here and tell me if you got the same message as I did.

Its titled, "Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs". The author is a young, feminist atheist who is addicted to Mormon blogs.

In the article she is questioning why she likes to read these blogs so much. She even dares to say they are "uplifting".

The whole time I was reading this article it was so clear to me why she was so drawn to them. She could feel the truth, feel the Spirit in these women. What life could be like with the Spirit.

I'm not saying that my life is perfect or easy at that but what I am saying is that my trials would be so much harder not knowing the truth. Harder if I did not have my Heavenly Father to turn to when times get hard.

I normally do not jump on the band wagon with what everyone else is reading but these books are amazing.

I had heard about these books from EVERYONE. I gave up and on our trip to Utah we started listening to the first book on CD. Our 10 hour drive seemed like 30 minutes! We were hooked.

For Christmas I bought Kirk the second and third book. Each night once the kids were asleep Kirk and I snuggle up on the couch in front of the fire and I would read. It really is a great way to share something fun together and very inexpensive (or free if you rent from the library or borrow from a friend). I love the idea of reading together.

As most of you know Kirk just finished his Masters and will walk with his class in March. It was a life long goal for himself and we are so proud of all that he accomplished.

I have always wanted to go back to school. It was always an agreement that once he finished his Masters I would go back to school.

Growing up I always wanted to be a doctor. I even use to watch the surgery channel for fun! I gave up that idea because being a mom was more important. I knew that doctors worked a lot of hours and I would never see my kids.

With that said, my sister is such an inspiration to me. She is just about finished with her pre-requisites for nursing school. The more I talked to her about the classes she was taking and her plans the more I thought why can't I do that? It will take me probably around five years to do all the schooling I want and still be a mom and wife but it would be such a great example to my kids.

I think the perfect nursing job for me would be one day a week in the labor and delivery department.

So I started looking into what classes, what I needed to take and what my plan would be. Then Kirk came home and said he just enrolled in school again and it would take about three or four years to complete.

Kirk is going back to get his CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)

What is CFA?The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is an international professional certification offered by the CFA Institute to financial analysts who complete a series of three examinations. To become a CFA Charterholder candidates must pass each of three six-hour exams, possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution (or have equivalent education or work experience) and [1] have 48 months of qualified, professional work experience. CFA charterholders are also obligated to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards governing their professional conduct.

Or as Kirk calls it, the big boys club for finance.

I am very grateful for Kirk's desire to provide for our family. This program is really really hard and it has about a 30% passing rate. I know he will do well. We many never see him but after this he will hopefully be able to apply for the top jobs. Also by the time he is finished Paige and Dillon will be out of the house so we can move to the big finance areas.

I am still planning on going back to school. I will probably only take on one or two classes a semester but I feel very strong about continuing school.

See you in three years Kirk!

(Maybe he will be so busy he won't notice if we had another baby or two) Heee heee

Saturday, January 8, 2011

For Myla's fifth birthday we decided to do a party with some of her friends. According to some parents its not cool to have boys over at a girl party so I think this is the last year. Its so sad that kids have to grow up!

Myla's wanted a Fancy Nancy party so we did that but focused on just being fancy. Boys like to be fancy right. Ok apparently I do not know boys but I think they had fun!

With Christmas I did not start planning the party until really two days before but I think it turned out pretty cute considering the lack of planning.

So everyone was asked to dress up fancy and let me tell you I think that was the cutest part. We did blue and pink sandwiches cut out in castle shape, fancy cupcakes and cookies thanks to my mom, and lots of games and fun!! (No pictures of the other kids dressed up just in case some parents did not want them on a public blog)

Merry Christmas!!Myla and Sariah at grandma's house for Christmas Eve. (Thanks Tamara for the pics)The first picture is Sariah with her aunt Angie. Do you think Sariah or Myla liked their gifts????

I LOVE these two kids. My niece and nephew. Kylee is 10 now and is the most mature, sweetest girl I have ever met! Nathan lost his two front teeth just in time for Christmas. If I knew I would have a boy just like him I would order one today!My dad, sister Tamara and her hubby Scott. It made my WHOLE Christmas to have my sister home with us!

I have the best job in the whole world! I'm a mommy... I have birthed three amazing, sassy, BUSY, little girls. I have gained two wonderful kids, one boy and one girl. That makes five kids under one roof!
I love being a mommy, let me say that again, I LOVE being a mommy. I also love making crafts, sewing, reading, being out doors, learning, and just having fun!